


driver's license

by wordsnnotes



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn - Fandom
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canada, Attempt at Humor, Banter, Demisexuality, Enemies to Lovers, Late Night Conversations, Liam being Liam, Lilo friendship, M/M, Misunderstandings, No Smut, POV Louis Tomlinson, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, Unresolved Tension, also this is NOT inspired by the song of the same title, louis making fun of liam for being a canadian hipster, the author doesn't know how to drive and it probably shows, zayn being fed up with louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:29:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28987845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsnnotes/pseuds/wordsnnotes
Summary: “I said to turn left.”“No, you said to turn right.”Louis has no idea what he actually said, but who cares? He’s tired of his superior tone.“Are you seriously arguing with your examiner right now?”See, that’s exactly what Louis is talking about.The guy—Zayn, or whatever—pointedly waits for an answer, and Louis scoffs.“Doesn’t matter who you are, does it? I still know what I heard, and you said ‘right’.”Or: Louis is taking the exam to get his driver’s licence for the 3rd time (okay, sue him), and the examiner keeps getting under his skin, until they suddenly get stranded in the middle of a snow storm, and have to learn to cooperate.
Relationships: Zayn Malik/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 15
Kudos: 25





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to [Sher](https://citronlouis.tumblr.com/) for giving me this title as a prompt 💞 Hope you enjoy ✨

Louis scoffs when he sees who’s waiting for him by the car. Of course it would be that guy again.

He’s finishing a cigarette now, smirking as Louis strides in his direction and stops right in front of him.

“You again,” Louis says pointedly, almost accusingly.

“I think that should be my line,” the guy answers, stubbing out his cigarette on the car’s hood. _That’s probably a safety hazard_ , Louis thinks absently as his interlocutor continues: “It’s my job to be here, see. You, on the other hand… It’s your third time, if I’m not mistaken?”

Louis doesn’t even bother to answer. They both know perfectly well it’s their third meeting, the two first ones were memorable enough.

The whole thing started pretty well, though, in Louis’ opinion. Sure, he fell for the other guy’s charms right away, but who wouldn’t? He’s devastatingly gorgeous. The problem is… well, Louis should have focused on the road instead of his examiner’s perfect jawline. He almost ran over an old lady who was crossing the street, and since then, the guy has seemed to take a strong dislike for him, and think he’s a complete jerk. Needless to say, Louis didn't pass the exam that first time.

And the second time, when he realized it was the exact same examiner who would assess him, Louis was so perturbed that he went over the speed limit once or twice, just a little bit each time, but enough for the other man to look at him with disgust—and fear?—and unsurprisingly deny him his license.

Louis thought it might still be him today, but prayed that it wouldn’t. He’s tired of making a fool of himself in front of that guy.

“Alright, should we go?” he says, eager to get this over with, then hopefully move on and never have to face this particular brand of humiliation ever again.

“Sure,” the examiner answers with indifference, opening the door and disappearing into the car without another word.

🌲🌲🌲

“So, what’s your name again?” Louis asks a while later.

Things are going fine so far. It’s late afternoon and there isn’t too much traffic. They're driving on the outskirts of the city, in the area with all the disused factories and the spooky woods.

There’s been an uncomfortable silence ever since they took off, only interrupted by the guy’s sharp instructions and the nervous tapping of Louis’ fingers on the steering wheel.

Despite his annoyance at his passenger, Louis also isn’t one to let the quiet settle in, so he figures he might as well try to make polite conversation. No such luck, though.

“Don’t see how that’s any of your concern,” the man answers.

“C’mon. What if we were in a situation of emergency and I needed to give your name to the ER people, or something?”

The guy turns to stare at him with wide eyes. Or at least, that’s how Louis imagines his eyes to be right now. He’s too focused on the road and the fact it’s started to rain to really distinguish the other man’s expression.

“First off, they’d just have to look at my papers to get all my info. Second off, are you planning to cause an accident and get me injured? On the day you’re taking your license exam for the _third_ time?”

“Nope,” Louis answers. “I’m not _planning_ on it, but you never know what could happen, right… Sam?”

“Like what?” the guy says, ignoring Louis’ attempt at guessing his name.

“I don’t know… A bear could appear out of nowhere, since we’re in the middle of the woods right now. Or we could be abducted by aliens. Sky’s the limit, CJ.”

For the first time, the guy lets out a snort, but immediately composes himself and replies:

“If we were abducted by aliens, I doubt knowing my name would make any kind of difference.”

Louis lets a few seconds pass.

“Point taken, Brad.”

His interlocutor sighs.

“Name’s Zayn, okay?”

Louis feels so victorious that he doesn’t pay attention to the next instructions the guy gives him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get away with it, as twenty seconds later, he’s reprimanded with a cold:

“I said to turn left.”

“No, you said to turn right.”

Louis has no idea what he actually said, but who cares? He’s tired of his superior tone.

“Are you seriously arguing with your examiner right now?” 

See, that’s exactly what Louis is talking about.

The guy—Zayn, or whatever—pointedly waits for an answer, and Louis scoffs.

“Doesn’t matter who you are, does it? I still know what I heard, and you said ‘right’.”

“I said ‘left’. Now please turn back. I don’t know where this road is going.”

“You want me to make a U-turn in the middle of the road?”

“Yes. There’s no other car around, it’s fine.”

Louis shakes his head. Call him paranoid, but he won’t fall for it that easily.

“You’re trying to trick me. I’ll wait until there’s a roundabout or something.”

“Oh my god,” Zayn retorts, seemingly losing patience, “I’m _not_ trying to trick you, alright? There’s not gonna be any roundabouts on a fucking forest road like this one, so just take a U-turn, please.”

“Fine,” Louis grumbles, slowing the car down to a halt.

See, the problem is, he’s never quite grasped how to make U-turns. He was hoping he’d get away with it, work on it once he got his licence, but of course fate or Zayn or whatever else decided not to let him off the hook today.

It must be painfully obvious he has no idea how to proceed, as Zayn asks, in a scaringly calm tone while menacingly opening his notebook:

“Don’t you know how to make a U-turn, Louis?”

Hearing his own name wrapped in such contempt jerks Louis’ pride and survival instincts back to life, and he replies fiercely:

“Of course I know how to make a U-turn.”

🌲🌲🌲

Five minutes later, Zayn is full-on shouting at him.

“I _told_ you you shouldn’t reverse, but _of course_ , his royal _fucking_ highness thought he knew best, when _I’m_ the professional here!”

“I can fix this,” Louis replies heatedly, managing to keep himself from spitting out a ‘shut up’ in the process.

“Oh yeah? And how are you going to ‘fix this’? You stuck the car into a fucking ditch, you…”

Zayn catches himself just in time as well, and lets out a heavy breath, running his hands over his face. In a calmer tone, he adds: “I’m not giving you your license today, Tomlinson.”

“Thanks, I could’ve figured it out myself,” Louis grumbles. “What do we do now?” he adds, thinking that maybe talking about technicalities will dispel the tension that’s eating up the air.

But instead, the question seems to bring Zayn’s stress to yet another level, and he replies sharply:

“I don’t know. I need a smoke and to call my boss. You stay here, and you’re not to touch anything, alright? In fact, go sit in the back.”

“I’m not a fucking child,” Louis points out, complying anyway, because he’s trying to be an adult here. How ironic.

“Debatable,” he hears Zayn mumble as he walks away in the rain, which is worryingly turning into snow.

Ten minutes later, when he gets back, the white layer on the car and on the ground is already a few inches high.

He settles on the driver's seat and turns to look at Louis, his cheeks flushed from the cold.

 _He’s beautiful_ , Louis’ brain points out, to which Louis replies _shut the fuck up_.

“So?” he asks, schooling his expression while he’s holding Zayn’s stare.

“So there’s no service. You took us to the middle of nowhere.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Wish I was,” Zayn shrugs.

His irritation of earlier has disappeared, seemingly replaced by a frustrated resignation at the situation. Louis, on the contrary, is increasingly anxious.

“How far away did you go? Maybe there’d be service a little further down the road?”

“Look, I walked for as long as I could, but it’s freezing and slippery, alright? Was safer to come back here.”

“But what are we gonna _do_ , then? We can’t stay here, the night’s falling fast. Shouldn't we, like, try to push the car out of the ditch?”

“Don’t be stupid. Have you seen all that snow? There’s no way we’d manage to make the car move an inch right now.”

“Fine,” Louis grumbles. “No need to call me stupid.”

“I’m not the one who got us stuck here, am I?” Zayn raises his voice again. _Round two_. “If you’d admitted you didn’t know how to make a U-turn, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Well, I’m sorry I ruined your plans for tonight,” Louis crosses his arms, averting his eyes to look out the window again. “I’m sure they were very exciting.”

“It’s not about my plans,” Zayn argues, still looking straight at Louis. “It’s about having no idea what’s gonna happen to us tonight.”

“Oh, so _now_ you’re getting worried about the bears and the aliens, aren’t you?”

“Shut up. I’m worried about the cold and the lack of food and water.”

Louis’ been worried about it ever since the car got stuck, to be fair. He was so stressed about the exam earlier that he didn’t have lunch, and his stomach has been growling for hours. But at least…

“I have a water bottle in my bag,” he says.

There’s a beat, and he sees a wave of relief rush over Zayn’s face.

“That might be the most sensible thing you’ve said all afternoon.”

Before Louis can reply, he’s turning away and starting to fumble through the glove compartment.

“‘S not much, but we have lozenges. And a bag of crisps. Not sure how old it is, though.”

“Great. So what’s the plan, then? Spend the night here and hope things will clear up in the morning?”

“I guess so. We should keep an eye out for other cars, though. Maybe keep a vigil or something.”

“Don’t you think they’d spot the car if someone was to drive by us?”

“I guess, but they might think it’s abandoned,” Zayn ponders. “Plus, most people are selfish, and won’t help until they’re expressly asked to.”

This throwaway comment somehow sounds deeper than it should be, and a charged silence starts to settle in, which Louis rushes to dispel like a swarm of bees.

“Who _hurt_ you?” he asks jokingly.

Zayn doesn’t answer right away. Louis sees him frown in the rearview mirror, but it disappears as quickly as it came, and he says:

“No one. I’m just being realistic. Everyone’s selfish.”

“You included?”

“Yeah,” Zayn shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I recognized your name this morning, on the list of people who’d take the exam today. I knew there’d be no way things would go well if I was your examiner, and I could’ve asked someone else to deal with you, but I didn’t.”

“Why?” Louis asks, his heart beating fast at Zayn’s admission.

“Dunno. Guess I thought it’d be a fun way to end the day, watch you fail your exam pathetically once again.”

“Wow.” Deep down, Louis was hoping for another answer, something like: “I wanted to see you again”, but he blames the romantic teenager still lurking inside of him for having those kinds of thoughts. Present-day Louis is definitely _not_ like that anymore. 

“As I said, human beings are selfish,” Zayn continues, oblivious to Louis’ inner struggle. “And you are too, there’s no use denying it.”

“I wasn't gonna deny it.”

Louis is a little stunned by the conversation. Everything is just so… bizarre. Him being stuck in a car with a guy he’s clearly attracted to but who’s definitely _not_ for him, while snow is falling all around them and they’re about to spend the night there, a night that's surely going to be uncomfortable on more than one level. And now they’re having a semi-philosophical talk on top of that?

That’s _not_ what he signed up for.

He looks out the window again, but sees it’s completely covered in snow now, as is the windshield. How are they even going to be able to spot another car passing by, in those conditions?

He’s about to point it out to Zayn when there’s a loud bang against the driver’s door, and the look of surprise over Zayn’s face would be hilarious if Louis’ wasn’t scared to death himself.

They both remain frozen for a few seconds, until Zayn puts a trembling hand on the handle, and slowly opens the door.


	2. 2

The first thing Louis sees is an axe. The second thing is the tattooed hand holding it. The third thing is the face to whom the hand belongs.

Brown eyes glowing in the dusk, dark hair blowing in the wind, pale skin with traces of dirt.

The whole thing would look straight out of a horror movie if the man wasn’t smiling right now, but not the kind of creepy smile that serial killers supposedly have. No, the smile is hesitant, and the man’s eyes are flickering between the two of them, seemingly trying to figure out what’s happening.

“Er, hi,” he says eventually, and his voice is a welcome source of warmth in this weird evening. “You guys need help?”

Zayn looks too stunned to respond—probably because his whole fucked-up theory has just been reduced to ashes—so Louis takes the matter into his own hands and says:

“Actually, we do. We got the car stuck, see…”

Hearing this, Zayn finally reacts, and snorts.

“ _You_ got the car stuck, I had nothing to do with it.”

“You stressed me out with your instructions and your shouting. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened if you’d just kept your mouth shut and didn’t distract me,” Louis argues. He really doesn’t give a fuck if Zayn’s supposed to be his examiner anymore. Somehow, they’re past that.

“Oh my god,” Zayn laughs incredulously, “I can’t believe you managed to put the blame on _me_ for this, when _you’re_ the one who was driving.”

And yeah, maybe Louis is being childish and hypocritical right now, but he’s exhausted, alright? Also, he hates being humiliated in front of yet another stranger, no matter how nice this stranger seems.

The guy is looking at them with wide eyes and interjects:

“Alright, alright, it doesn’t matter now, what’s done is done. But the thing is, I don’t think I can help you with your car situation. You’ll need to call a tow truck for that, but they’re probably busy with more serious accidents right now, considering the weather. So how about you come home with me in the meantime? I live close by.”

“You live in the woods?” Zayn asks, stealing the words out of Louis’ mouth.

“Yep.”

“What are you, a lumberjack or something?” Louis questions, thinking about the object the man is holding.

“Actually, I am, yeah,” the man smiles. “Was just done with work and going back home. So, should we go?”

Zayn seems ready to jump out of the car and follow the man into the unknown, but Louis is more sensible than that, thank you very much.

“Mind if you give us your name first? Not to be paranoid, but I’ve seen enough crime dramas to know you shouldn’t blindly trust some stranger you meet in the woods, especially if they have an axe.”

The guy chuckles.

“I’m Liam. Is that name worthy enough of your trust?”

It’s not the name that seals the deal for Louis. It’s the way Liam’s eyes crinkle when he laughs.

“I guess so,” he shrugs, opening the door and carefully stepping into the snow. Damn, he should have worn thicker shoes than Vans. “I’m Louis, by the way. And this guy over here is the bane of my existence,” he adds, pointing at Zayn, who gives him the finger. Nice.

“I’m Zayn, actually. It’s nice to meet you, Liam.”

And with that, they set off into the night.

🌲🌲🌲

“Here we are,” Liam says after ten minutes of walking in the cold. Louis almost fell once, but to his surprise, Zayn caught him by the elbow with a strong grip. Louis, who was almost offended, let out a muttered “thanks”, to which Zayn answered with a shrug, and that was it.

Now, Liam is gesturing at a small cabin standing under pine trees, right at the edge of the mountain. As they walk towards the door, Louis notices piles of logs lying around, and various wooden tools that look straight out of one of those image books he had as a child. 

Upon entering the cabin, Liam turns the light on and takes off his coat, revealing a red flannel shirt underneath it. It’s the last straw for Louis.

“So you really woke up one morning and decided to become the perfect cliché of the Canadian lumberjack, huh?” he smirks.

Liam giggles as Zayn elbows him.

“Would it kill you to be nice to our host?”

Louis rolls his eyes.

“Liam doesn’t mind, do you, Liam?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Liam answers, still chuckling as he leads them to the small kitchen in the back of the cabin. “It’s true, anyway. I saw a documentary when I was about 16, and I was like… this is what I have to do with my life.”

“And do you like it as much as you’d expected to?” Zayn asks.

“Yep. It’s the best.”

“Aren’t you… lonely out here, though?” Zayn continues, apparently as curious about Liam’s lifestyle as Louis is.

“Not really,” Liam shrugs. “I’ve always been pretty self-reliant. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have other people around for once, it breaks the routine a little… But I’m fine on my own.”

Coming out of anyone else’s mouth, Louis wouldn’t have believed it. But Liam is somehow radiating happiness and light, has been since they met him. So maybe this life truly is working for him.

Louis feels a pinching in his heart, remembering that he himself still has to idea what to do with his life. Everyone else he knows seems to have their shit together, but here he is at almost 25, somehow floating his way through the days. He doesn’t even have his license, for god’s sake. He wonders if Zayn is living his dream too, being an examiner, but somehow he doubts it. Maybe that’s why he’s so annoying.

“Anyway, you guys are hungry?” Liam’s voice chimes in, interrupting Louis’ thoughts. “I can make chili or something.”

“Sure. I just need to make a few calls first,” Zayn says, and he disappears into the hallway.

Liam starts cooking, while Louis offers to set up the table. There’s a few minutes of comfortable silence, only disturbed by the quiet sound of Liam humming under his breath, and the distant rumour of Zayn’s voice coming from another room.

“So, how long have you guys known each other?” Liam suddenly asks.

“I’m not sure,” Louis answers, hating to be reminded of his and Zayn’s first meeting. “I guess you could say a few months.”

A frown forms between Liam’s eyebrows, and he’s about to ask something else when Zayn walks back into the room.

“So, the breakdown mechanic won’t be able to drop by until tomorrow morning,” he announces. “You were right, Liam, they’re overwhelmed with other accidents right now.”

“Well, it’s alright. You can stay here for the night, and I’ll drive you back to your car in the morning,” Liam says decidedly, and both Louis and Zayn are happy to comply.

The dinner is surprisingly nice. There’s still an underlying tension between Louis and Zayn, but Liam’s good spirits are making up for it. They get slightly drunk on craft beer, and keep making innuendos about lumberjacks and their axes until it’s almost midnight and Liam suddenly declares:

“Right, time to go to bed. I’m guessing the earlier you take off tomorrow, the better?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Zayn sighs, apparently as unwilling as Louis to put an end to the night.

“C’mon, I’ll show you where you guys can sleep,” Liam says, leading them to the living room. “It’s a sofa bed, I’m afraid it’s not super comfortable… But I have to optimize space, it’s such a small cabin...”

“Oh,” Louis lets out. He stupidly never considered he might have to share a bed with Zayn tonight.

“Something wrong?” Liam asks, sensing the discomfort in Louis—and potentially Zayn too. Indeed, Louis steals a glance at Zayn, and sees that he looks much less relaxed than he did just a few minutes earlier.

“Nothing… It’s just… A pretty awkward situation, I guess,” Louis replies evasively.

Liam looks more confused by the second.

“Awkward?” he repeats.

Louis looks at Zayn with insistence, but of course that coward is not helping him one bit, retreating into silence instead.

“Yeah, I mean… I definitely didn’t think I’d have to share a bed with my driver’s license examiner when I woke up this morning,” Louis explains. Of course, he doesn’t mention the other reason, which is that he thinks Zayn is steaming hot, and if he wasn’t… well, _Zayn_ , Louis would have been enchanted at the prospect of spending the night in the same room, and the same bed at that.

There’s a beat, then Liam starts giggling, and giggling, and giggling, until it turns into a proper belted out laugh that makes him lose his breath.

Louis wonders what the fuck is happening, and Zayn remains frozen, shooting curious glances at Liam.

When he finally catches his breath after what seems like an eternity, Liam manages to say:

“Sorry… Oh wow, I hadn’t laughed like that in so long…”

And he’s almost tearing up now, for god’s sake.

“What’s so fucking funny?” Louis almost snaps.

“Well, I thought you guys were together.”

“ _Together_?” Louis repeats incredulously.

“Yeah, like, involved I guess. I never would have thought _you_ were _his_ examiner. That’s so freaking awkward for you both, seriously.”

“Shut up, Liam. We’re well aware of that, thanks,” Louis grumbles. He just wants this whole scene to end, at this point, and sleep all of today’s embarrassment off.

Liam seems to sense it, bless him, and his tone finally gets serious again as he says:

“Anyway, I’m afraid there’s nowhere else to sleep. I mean, one of you could bunk with me, I guess…”

“No, it’s fine,” Zayn interjects. _Look who’s finally regained his ability to speak?_ Louis inwardly rolls his eyes. “We’ve bothered you enough for today. It’s not that big of a deal anyway, right, Louis? I told my boss what happened over the phone and she told me she’ll replace me next time you take your license. So there’s no conflict of interest or anything, alright?”

“Fine,” Louis shrugs, but it’s not really _fine_. He has no idea how he’s going to handle being in such close proximity to Zayn all night and not either 1. lose his grip and punch him, or 2. lose his grip and kiss him.

🌲🌲🌲

While Zayn goes into the bathroom, Liam helps Louis set up the bed.

“Why did you think we were together?” Louis can’t help asking. “I mean… All we do is shout and get pissed at each other.”

“Isn’t that how some couples are?” Liam retorts. “You know the kind.”

“Yeah, I know the kind…” Louis answers, reminded of his sister Lottie and her boyfriend. Seeing the way they act sometimes, you’d think they can hardly stand each other. And yet, they’ve been together for years, are probably going to get engaged soon, even. They both have strong personalities that tend to clash, but somehow it works for them.

“Plus,” Liam continues, “despite your bickering, you two seem to have a way of naturally gravitating towards each other. Some kind of mirroring, both in the way you move and the way you talk. I noticed it during dinner.”

Louis shakes his head.

“Liam, dude, I think the beer is getting to you.”

“Maybe,” Liam chuckles. “But in any case, I would’ve never guessed you two were near strangers. I would’ve said you were close friends, at the very least.”

Louis sits on the bed and sighs.

“Maybe in another life, if we’d met under other circumstances, we would be. But I doubt it’s going to happen now.”

“It sounds like you want it to, though,” Liam points out.

“Shut up, Liam.”

Unbothered, the other man ruffles Louis’ hair and says:

“Goodnight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, alright?”

“Like what?” Louis smirks.

“You know very well what,” Liam winks, turning away and walking towards the door.

“Hey, Liam!” Louis calls out before it’s too late. “Thanks, by the way. For everything. And I’m sorry if I went too hard on the teasing.”

Liam smiles.

“I took it as a sign you like me.”

“Good. Sleep well, yeah?”

“You too.”

Once Liam has disappeared out of sight, Louis falls back heavily on the bed and stares at the ceiling, trying to empty his mind. It doesn’t last long, though, as he quickly hears the noise of footsteps entering the room.

“Bathroom’s all yours,” Zayn says. “Liam told me we can help ourselves with towels and clothes there.”

Louis takes a glance at him. He’s wearing an oversized T-shirt with a faded out drawing of a bear on it—of fucking course—and a pair of blue sweatpants that are clearly too big for him. But then, considering they roughly have the same size and build, Louis suspects it’s going to be the exact same story when he puts Liam’s clothes on.

“Alright, be right back,” he mutters, his fingers unwillingly brushing past Zayn’s as he leaves the room.

The phantom touch lingers on as he gets changed, tries his best to brush his teeth without a toothbrush, and looks at himself in the mirror, realizing his hair is an utter mess. Not that it matters, right?

When he gets back into the living room, Zayn is already lying under the covers, scrolling on his phone and hardly looking at him as Louis lies down, careful _not_ to touch him in the process.

It’s weird. He feels like he’s 14 again, and the straight friend he has a crush on has invited him for a sleepover, and Louis is trying his best not to implode from the overwhelming feeling of doom that’s hovering above him, telling him it’s only a matter of time until his friend finds out and rejects him, breaking his heart in the process.

 _It’s stupid_ , he thinks. First off, he doesn’t have a crush on Zayn, _per se_. He’s just attracted to him, that’s all. Second off, he doubts Zayn is straight, not after he gladly participated in all the gay innuendos earlier. And third off, there’s no rejection that’s going to happen tonight. Because he’s not going to try anything. Because Zayn pretty much despises him.

A few minutes later, when Zayn puts his phone on the floor and seems to get ready to turn in for the night, Louis can’t help but break the silence and say:

“I hope you don’t snore, by the way.”

Zayn doesn’t answer and turns off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

When Louis’ eyes get used to it, he realizes that the window by Zayn’s side has no curtains, and he can see the starry sky through it. It’s way clearer, out here in the middle of nowhere, and he suddenly envies Liam for living in such a place.

“I don’t know if I snore,” Zayn eventually says, and Louis snaps his eyes back at him.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“It’s been a while since I slept in the same room as someone,” Zayn admits.

“So you’re single?” Louis asks, wondering why Zayn is even confessing this, wondering if it warrants the flinch of hope he can already feel spreading through his bones.

“Yeah.”

“But like… Aren’t you, I don’t know… occasionally sleeping with people, at least?”

“I don’t do that,” Zayn replies, and there’s some kind of tension in his voice.

“You don’t do casual sex?”

“There’s no need to sound that disgusted.”

“I’m not,” Louis rushes to contradict, almost horrified Zayn would think he is. “Just surprised, I guess.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

There must be something in the way Louis answers that reassures Zayn, as he starts explaining with a more patient tone:

“It’s more than not wanting to do casual sex. It’s like… not even being attracted to people that way, or at least, not until I already have feelings for them.”

“Oh. I heard of it, I think.”

“Yeah, it’s called demisexuality.”

There’s too many thoughts battling inside Louis’ brain right now for him to be able to decide what to say. But the longer he waits, the more he panics at the idea that Zayn might be thinking he has a problem with what he just revealed.

“Cool,” is what he ends up saying, mentally slapping himself.

But then, another thought occurs to him.

“You’re sure you’re okay sharing a bed, then?”

“Yeah,” Zayn answers, and Louis can hear a pinch of amusement in his voice. “It’s not like you were expecting something would happen anyway, right?”

“Yeah… I mean, no, of course not…” Louis stutters, and Zayn suddenly sits up, his shadow waving a finger at him accusingly.

“Holy shit, you totally _were_!”

“No, I was not!” Louis protests, knowing he’s furiously blushing, but Zayn probably can’t see it in the dark, thank god.

Zayn is full-on giggling now, so at least he isn’t mad or freaked out.

“I can’t believe it, you people are so weird,” he says between two laughs. “We’ve been fighting the whole day, and somewhere in the middle of all this, you were fantasizing about sleeping with me?”

“I mean, yeah, have you seen yourself?” Louis pouts. “And like, sexual tension and all, you know…”

“Right…” Zayn says, and in the half-light, Louis sees him rolling his eyes. “Well, sorry to disappoint, bro. It’s not gonna happen today.”

He falls back on his pillow and closes his eyes while Louis still stares at him, his brain clinging on the last word.

“Does it mean it might happen _another day_?”

“Don’t push it. You heard what the man said, he needs to develop feelings first.”

“You have plenty of feelings for me, though,” Louis argues half-jokingly. “Maybe not the right ones yet, but you just wait.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A promise.”

Zayn snorts.

“You can make fun of Liam all you want, but sometimes you say stuff that makes me think you’re the one who’s actually living in some kind of romanticized version of his life.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I guess.”

They fall into silence, and Louis rewinds the whole day like a film, starting with the moment he first spotted Zayn by the car. When he gets to the short one-to-one conversation he had with Liam, he stops, and before he can think better of it, he starts speaking again.

“Liam said something about us mirroring one another. I think that’s why he thought we were together.”

Zayn hums, but doesn’t answer anything, as if he knows Louis hasn’t made his point yet.

“Do you despise me? Or are you just fighting me because I’m fighting you?”

The question weighs heavily in the air, and Louis can hear his heart beat in his ears.

“I thought _you_ despised me,” Zayn answers eventually. “Why else would you be fighting me?”

“Because you intimidate me. Because I was stressed about the situation, and I had to take it out on something—someone. Because you kept taking the bait, and placing higher bids, and I had to match them. Because we’re both too proud for our own sakes, probably. But the truth is, I kinda like you. Well, we’ve already established I’m attracted to you, but it goes beyond that.”

The next instant is probably the longest of Louis’ entire existence. With each passing second where Zayn doesn’t answer, he gets more desperate, until he almost wants to reconsider Liam’s offer and go cry in his bed all night while Liam rubs his back and tells him that everything is going to be okay. The worst thing is, he’d probably gladly do it, bless his heart.

But then, Zayn asks:

“Did you mean what you said earlier, about the promise?”

“The threat, you mean?”

“Yeah,” Zayn smiles.

“Yeah, I meant it.”

“Alright. I guess we could give it a try. I kinda like you too,” Zayn declares, punctuating his statement with a yawn because he’s so fucking chill about everything, apparently.

“You’re serious?” See, Louis isn’t that chill himself.

“Uh huh,” a sleepy voice answers.

“Okay then. We’ll figure something out for our first date. Unless you want to consider today was already it?”

But no one replies. The bastard fell asleep in the middle of their potentially life-changing conversation.

Louis lets out a chuckle, and closes his eyes.

His giddiness keeps him awake until the early hours of the morning.


	3. 3

He wakes up to a mouthful of hair. Zayn cuddled up to him some time during the night and hasn’t let go, despite the fact they’re both sweating from the warmth of their bodies and the many covers Liam provided them.

Louis tries to disentangle himself from Zayn, but he’s holding on tightly like his life depends on it. And apparently, he has the kind of sleep that wouldn’t be disturbed even if the apocalypse was happening right next to him.

Louis tries clearing his throat, tickling Zayn’s arms, then lightly kicking his shins, but if anything, his grip gets stronger.

Fine. Guess Louis can wait. The morning light is only just starting to make a timid appearance out the window anyway.

He closes his eyes and soon, he’s on the tipping point of falling back into sleep. But he’s interrupted by a voice exclaiming: “Good morning!”

This time, Zayn wakes up, slowly rubbing his eyes before opening them. When he does, he seems to suddenly realize the position he’s in, and sits up at the speed of light, taking all his warmth away from Louis.

Louis wants to complain, to ask him to come closer again, to tell him it’s okay, to remind him of their late night conversation and to confirm that he truly meant what he said before falling asleep.

But he finds himself unable to say a word, and Liam is already speaking anyway.

“So… You guys had a good night, then?”

Going by the smirk that accompanies the question, Liam definitely saw them snuggling right now.

“Was alright, yeah,” Zayn says.

“Just ‘alright’?” Louis scoffs. “I never saw someone sleep that deeply before. Or be that clingy, actually.”

Zayn blushes a little, but doesn’t acknowledge the comment.

“The question is, though, did I snore?”

“You know what, I don’t think you did,” Louis laughs. “And don’t tell me _I_ did, I know you’d be lying because there’s no way you heard _anything._ ”

Zayn punches his arm and gets up, stretching like a cat before declaring:

“I’m gonna go make pancakes, if that’s alright with you, Liam.”

“Er, sure.”

As Zayn walks out the room, Louis calls out: “Don’t spill all the maple syrup, yeah?” and Zayn gives him the finger, chuckling.

There’s a beat, then Liam says proudly, as if talking about his vinyl collection or something:

“You guys are so cute.”

“Shut up, Liam,” Louis retorts automatically, already dreading having to say goodbye to the guy later today.

🌲🌲🌲

They’re sitting in the car, waiting for the tow truck to arrive.

Liam dropped them off a few minutes ago, and they exchanged numbers, promising they’d hang out again soon.

As he was hugging Louis goodbye, Liam whispered to his ear: “Don’t mess this up, alright?” and Louis didn’t even try to argue that there wasn't anything to mess up.

Because it’s surely a matter of time, going by the way Zayn is stealing glances at him, and blushingly averting his eyes when Louis catches him red-handed. But Louis doesn’t give up, and he eventually gets Zayn to hold his gaze. 

He kind of really wants to kiss him right now, but he also knows that Zayn should be the first to make a move, and that Louis will wait however long he needs, years and years if he has to. Okay, maybe _years_ is a little dramatic considering they’ve just met, but at the same time, there’s an intense certainty in his bones that they’d work perfectly well together. Liam said as much, and he’s like, a hipster wizard or something.

“I think it’s the longest I’ve seen you go without saying a word,” Zayn points out, putting an end to whatever staring game they were playing at.

“Yeah, well, sometimes silence speaks louder than words.”

“Does it?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know, all I got from this is that you’re worryingly good at not blinking your eyes,” Zayn smirks.

“And here I was thinking we were having a moment… You’re the worst, you know that?”

Zayn sticks out his tongue, and that really messes with Louis’ sanity, but it’s fine. He’s _fine_.

The tow truck is here, anyway.

🌲🌲🌲

“So…”

“So.” Zayn repeats.

They made it back to the examination centre, and after Louis had to deal with some administrative bullshit, Zayn offered to drive him home.

“First off, you really need to get your license. I’m not gonna drive you everywhere, okay?”

“So we’re gonna meet again?” Louis asks innocently.

“That was my second point. You free on Saturday?”

“Yep.”

“Cool. I’ll pick you up at seven, alright?”

Zayn is speaking with the same sharp tone that he had when he was giving directions yesterday, and Louis suddenly realizes it’s not contempt or coldness, like he thought, but shyness.

So, instead of commenting on how business-like Zayn is sounding right now, Louis smiles and answers:

“Seven’s perfect. Miss you already.”

And before he can think better of it, he kisses Zayn on the cheek and gets out of the car.

“And don’t worry, I’ll pass the exam next time. The main problem was you, not my driving abilities.”

“Debatable!” Zayn cries out at him as Louis walks away.

Louis doesn’t bother looking back as he gives him the finger, and he distinctly hears Zayn scoff behind him, before turning the ignition back on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! If you enjoyed, don't hesitate to leave kudos/comments, or to reblog the [fic post](https://quelsentiment.tumblr.com/post/641584737622917120/drivers-license-by-wordsnnotes-aka-me-t-6k), that would make my day 💕


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